Emmanuel Acho's biggest impact in 2011 might have been adapting so quickly to a new scheme. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Of course, the Longhorns didn't have much of a choice. Despite losing much-ballyhooed defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to Florida, the Longhorns finished 12th nationally in overall defense.

Had they not been put in such bad spots in so many weeks by an offense that continually turned over the ball, that number could have been better. But as it was, the defense was good enough to deserve a few plaudits.

Defensive MVP: Through a four-week stretch that included games against Texas Tech and Texas A&M, no one was more dominant on the defense than Emmanuel Acho. Because of that there might not have been a more dominant defense in the country than Texas'. In fact, Texas was ranked behind only Alabama and LSU in overall defense through those games.